1960 din Commission Constitutions

8/8/2019 1960 din Commission Constitutions

1/7

CONSTITUTION

DEFINATION

The fundamental, organic law or principles of government of men,embodied in written documents, or implied in the institutions andusages of the country or society; also, a written instrumentembodying such organic law, and laying down fundamental rulesand principles for the conduct of affairs

ABSTRACT

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (is the

supreme law of Pakistan. It is also known as the Constitution of

1973, and is the successor to two earlier documents,

the Constitution of 1956 and the Constitution of 1962.

Pakistan became an independent state in 1947. The first document

that served as a constitution for Pakistan was the Government of

India Act, 1935. The first Pakistani Constituent Assembly was

elected in 1947 and after nine years adopted the first indigenous

constitution, the short-lived Constitution of 1956.

In October 1958, President Iskander Mirza staged a couptand

abrogated the constitution. Shortly afterwards General Ayub

Khan deposed Iskandar and declared himself president.In 1960

Ayub Khan appointed a commission to draft a new constitution. The

new Constitution of 1962 was decreed by President Ayub in March

of that year. On 25 March 1969 the Second Martial Law was

imposed; President Ayub Khan abrogated the 1962 constitution and

handed over power to the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Agha

Mohammad Yahya Khan.1962 constitutionalso did not lost long.

People became increasingly disconnected with Ayub Khan due to the

growing autocracy of President Ayub Khan. Ayub Khan left the reign

and resigned.After that zulfikar Bhutto come and he make the

constitution of pakitan in 1973


2/7

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (is the

supreme law of Pakistan. It is also known as the Constitution of

1973, and is the successor to two earlier documents,

the Constitution of 1956 and the Constitution of 1962.

1956 FIRST CONSTITUTION

After assuming charge as Prime Minister, Chaudhry Muhammad Alibalong with his team worked day and night to formulate aconstitution for Pakistan. His efforts led to the first constitution thatwas enforced in the country on March 23, 1956. Pakistan's status asa dominion ended and the country was declared an Islamic Republicof Pakistan. There upon the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan

became the interim National Assembly and Governor GeneralIskander Mirza was sworn in as the first President of Pakistan.

The Constitution of 1956 consisted of 234 articles, which weredivided into 13 parts and 6 schedules. One of the main features ofthe Constitution was its Islamic character. The Islamic provisionswere contained in the directive principles of the state policy. Alongwith other Islamic provisions in the Constitution, the president, whowas required to be a Muslim of at least 40 years of age, was to setup an organization for Islamic research with the aim of establishing

a true Islamic society. The Objectives Resolution was, however,only made the preamble of the Constitution and not included in itsmain text.

The Constitution vested the executive authority of the President inthe Federation. The President had the discretionary powers to makethe appointment of the Chairman and members of the ElectionCommission, Delimitation Commission and Public ServiceCommission. He also had the power to appoint the Prime Ministerfrom amongst the members of the National Assembly. However, his

appointee had to take a vote of confidence from the Assemblywithin two months of his appointment. The President also had thepower to remove the Prime Minister if he felt that the Prime Ministerhad lost the confidence of the majority of the National Assemblymembers.

The Constitution of 1956 provided for parliamentary form ofgovernment with a unicameral legislature. The only house ofparliament, the National Assembly, was to consist of 300 members.The Constitution recognized the concept of One Unit, and the seatswere divided equally between the two wings of the country. Thusthe principle of parity was introduced. For the first ten years, five


3/7

additional seats were reserved for women for each wing. NationalAssembly was to meet at least twice a year with at least onesession at Dhaka. The Constitution offered direct elections underadult franchise. Every citizen of Pakistan with minimum age of 21was allowed to vote in the elections.

The Constitution provided for federal form of government in thecountry. The provincial structure was similar to the one in thecenter. The pattern for the center-province relations was the sameas it was in the Government of India Act, 1935. There were federal,provincial and concurrent lists of subjects. There were 30 items inthe federal list, 94 items in the provincial list and 19 items in theconcurrent list. The federal legislation was to get precedence overprovincial legislation regarding the concurrent list. Residuary powerswere vested in the provinces. In case of a conflict between center

and provinces or between the two provinces, the Chief Justice of theSupreme Court was to act as the mediator.

The Constitution of 1956 was a written and flexible constitution. Itadvocated the fundamental rights of the individual. However, thePresident had the power to suspend these rights in case of anemergency. Judiciary was to remain independent. Urdu and Bengaliwere both accepted as state languages, while English was to remainthe official language for the first 25 years. After ten years' passageof the Constitution, the President was to appoint a commission with

the task to make recommendation for the replacement of English asthe official language.

The Constitution of 1956 proved to be short lived as on October 7,1958, Marital Law was promulgated and the constitution wasabrogated

1962 The second constitution

With the aim of investigating the reasons of failure of the

parliamentary system in Pakistan, and to make recommendationsfor a new constitution, Ayub Khan appointed a ConstitutionCommission under the supervision of Justice Shahab-ud-din. After anumber of considerations, the Commission submitted its report onMay 6, 1961. Ayub Khan was not satisfied with the report and had itprocessed through various committees. As a result the Constitution,which was promulgated on March 1, and enforced on June 8, 1962,was entirely different from the one recommended by the Shahab-ud-din Commission.

The Constitution of 1962 consisted of 250 Articles, which weredivided into 12 Parts and three Schedules. It advocated presidential


4/7

form of government with absolute powers vested in the President.The President was to be a Muslim not less than 35 years of age. Theterm of the President was for five years and nobody could hold thepost for more than two consecutive terms. The President was thehead of the state as well as the head of the Government. The

President had the power to appoint Provincial Governors, FederalMinisters, Advocate General, Auditor General and Chairmen andMembers of various administrative commissions. As the SupremeCommander of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, the appointment ofthe chiefs of the forces was also his duty.

The Constitution of 1962 provided for a unicameral legislature. TheNational Assembly was to consist of 156 members, including sixwomen. The Eighth Amendment later increased this number to 218.Principle of parity was retained and seats were distributed equally

between the two wings of the country. Principle of Basic Democracywas introduced for the first time in the country and the system ofindirect elections was presented. Only 80,000 Basic Democrats weregiven the right to vote in the presidential elections. The EighthAmendment later increased this number to 120,000. Half of themwere to be from the Eastern Wing, the rest from the Western Wingof the country.

According to the Constitution of 1962, the Executive was notseparated from the Legislature. The President exercised veto power

in the

legislative affairs and could even veto a bill passed by the NationalAssembly with a two-third majority. He had the power to issueordinances when the Assembly was not in session. The ordinanceneeded the approval of the National Assembly within 48 days of itsfirst meeting or 108 days after its promulgation. However, if thePresident enforced emergency in the country, which according tothe constitution was within his jurisdictions, then the ordinancesneeded no approval from the legislative body.

The President had the power to dissolve the National Assembly.Federal form of government was introduced in the country withmost of the powers reserved for the Central Government. There wasa federal list of subjects over which the provinces had nojurisdiction. Principle of One Unit for West Pakistan was maintainedand the number of seats for Punjab was curtailed to 40 percent inthe Western Wing for the initial five years. Provincial Governorswere to enjoy the same position in the provinces, which thePresident was to enjoy in the center.

Islamic clauses were included in the Constitution. These could notbe challenged in any court of law. The state was named the


5/7


6/7

The Constitution was parliamentary in nature. Article 41 of theConstitution lay down that the President was to be the Head of theState. The President was to be a Muslim above 45 years of age andwas to be elected by a joint sitting of members of the Parliament for5 years. He could be re-elected but could not hold office for more

than two terms. The President was to act on the advice of the PrimeMinister of Pakistan. The President could be removed on thegrounds of physical or mental incapacity or impeached on chargesof violating the Constitution or gross misconduct. The President wasauthorized to appoint the Attorney General, Judges of SupremeCourt and High Courts, and the Chief Election Commissioners. Inthe Provincial Government, each province was to have a Governorappointed by the President. The appointment of Federal Ministersand Ministers of the State from amongst the members of theParliament was at the Prime Minister's disposal.

The 1973 Constitution set up a bicameral legislature at the Centerconsisting of two Houses, the National Assembly and the Senate.The National Assembly consisted of 200 seats elected directly forduration of five years. The President on the advice of the PrimeMinister could dissolve the National Assembly. The Senate was toconsist of 63 members; each province was to elect 14 members. Inthe Provincial Government, each province will have a Governorappointed by the President. The Provincial Assembly for eachprovince consisted of 240 seats for the Punjab, 100 seats for Sindh,

80 seats for N. W. F. P., and 40 seats for Baluchistan.

The 1973 Constitution provided a free and independent Judiciary.The Constitution guaranteed a right to the citizens; to be protectedby law, and imposed two duties on them, loyalty to the Republicand obedience to the law. Any person who was found to abrogate orattempt or conspire to abrogate or subvert the Constitution was tobe treated guilty of high treason. The Constitution conferred severalkinds of fundamental rights to the people such as the right to life,liberty, equality and freedom of speech, trade and association. The

Constitution also declared the laws inconsistent with or inderogatory to fundamental rights as null and void.

In light of the previous experience, the Constitution of 1973 wasmore Islamic in character than the previous ones. Emphasis wasmade to establish a real Islamic system in all aspects of social life.Keeping this objective in mind, more Islamic provisions were laiddown in the Constitution of 1973. The Constitution recognized Islamas the religion of the country and enjoined upon the State to servethe cause of Islam and to bring all existing laws in conformity withIslam. The Islamic Advisory Council was set up to recommend ways


7/7

and means to bring existing laws of the country in conformity withthe Islamic principles.

The Constitution of 1973 remained in force for nearly four years. Itwas, however, suspended by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who

imposed Martial Law in the country on July 5, 1979. However,General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who ran the country with MartialLaw passed the Eighth Amendment in the Constitution in 1985. ThisAmendment empowered the President to dissolve the NationalAssembly under Article 58(2) b. This Article was later repealed bythe Parliament during Nawaz Sharif's era through ThirteenthAmendment introduced on April 1, 1997. The ThirteenthAmendment was in turn repealed by the Legal Framework Order of2002, which effectively restored the discretionary powers of thePresident enacted by the Eighth Amendment.

1960 din Commission Constitutions

Documents

Transcript of 1960 din Commission Constitutions